NRA urges Congress to pass continuing resolution, raise debt ceiling

The National Restaurant Association called on Congress last week to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling to avoid default and maintain market stability.

“The restaurant industry provides opportunities to over 13 million Americans, and the ability to sustain business while maintaining consumer confidence is greatly impacted by our nation’s economic health,” Scott Defife, the executive vice president of policy and government affairs at the NRA, said. “The debate over government funding and the debt ceiling, while important, is cutting into restaurant operators’ bottom-line every day the government remains closed. The shutdown is negatively impacting the livelihood of our restaurant customers and our workers. Congress must act now to end the government shutdown and restore economic certainty.”

The organization joins a chorus of other trade groups, legislators, economists and policymakers that have called for the reopening of the government. Last month, the NRA and 250 other groups urged Congress in a joint letter to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government, raise the debt limit and implement entitlement and tax reform.

NRA Chief Economist Bruce Grindy said the shutdown only adds to the uncertainty expressed by consumers and restauranteurs about the economy.

Only 23 percent of restaurant operators said they expect to see economic improvement in the next six months, and in a separate survey, only 21 percent of consumers said they expected the nation’s economy to improve over the next six months.